Shaft passage sealing collar



Nov. 3, 1964 s. H. SMITH SHAFT PASSAGE SEALING COLLAR Original FiledMarch 17. 1958 IllIII/lIlIl/IIIIIIII... 2.11 I I IIIIIIIHV/Ib INVENTOR.6201/52 .S'MIrH United States Patent 3,155,396 SHAFT PASSAGE SEALlNGCOLLAR Grover H. Smith, 4609 t'h Ave. S., Seattle, Wash. Originalapplication Mar. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 721,936, new Patent No. 3,067,612,dated Dec. 11, 1962. Divided and this application Oct. 21, 1960, Ser.No. 64,039

6 Claims. (Cl. 27'7212).

This invention relates to a sealing collar encircling a shaft forsealing an aperture in a wall through which the shaftpasses. Thisapplication is a division of application Serial No. 721,936, filed March17, 1958, now Patent No. 3,067,612, for Meter Register AssemblyIncluding Internal Spacer Collar.

While in the parent application use of the sealing collar is shown in aconnection with a water meter register assembly, such a sealing collarcould be used for effecting a seal of a passage or aperture throughwhich a shaft extends in various other situations. The sealing collar isparticularly suitable for use in sealing apertures in adjacent wallsthrough which a shaft passes.

While elements of the sealing collar could be used separately toadvantage, it is a particular object to provide a seal at more than onelocation. As a minimum, however, it is an object to provide a seal botharound the shaft and relative to the surface of a wall through which theshaft passes.

In a construction including spaced walls through which the shaft passes,it is also an object to provide a seal between such spaced walls. Afurther object is to provide such a seal irrespective of the degree ofspacing of such walls within limits.

More specifically, it is an object to provide a triple seal between thesealing collar and one surface of spaced surfaces through which a shaftpasses under preferred conditions in conjunction with a seal around theshaft. A particular sealing collar capable of accomplishing theseobjects may be in the form of a cup having a stepped wall and a dishedbottom, the central portion of which is formed as a shaft-engagingsleeve. A representative installation of such a sealing collar is shownin the drawlngs and described as being used to seal the drive shaft of awater meter register, which shaft extends through adjacent walls of themeter register installation.

FIGURE 1 is a top perspective view of a water meter including the meterregister with parts broken away.

FIGURE 2 is a sectional View through the meter register mechanism takenon line 2-2 of FIGURE 1.

FIGURE 3 is a perspective view of the meter register mechanism with itscomponents in exploded relationship and with parts of some of thecomponents broken away.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view through the sealing collar installationtaken along a plane in which the axis of the register drive shaft liesshowing parts in one relatlve position, and FIGURE 5 is a similar viewshowing parts in a different relative position.

The register box 1 has its upper end closed by a transparent disk 2through which the register mechanism 3 can be viewed. This registermechanism is of conventional type and is mounted on a base plate 30. Themeter mechanism is driven by a key 31 fitting in a deep notch in the endof the register mechanism drive shaft 32. Such key is mounted in andextends across the bore of the drive gear 33.

The register mechanism is housed within the register box, the lower endof which is closed by the pan shown in FIGURES 2, 3, 4 and 5. It isclear from FIGURES 2, 4 and 5 that the drive shaft 32 extends boththrough the register base 30 and the register box closing pan 10. Agasket 11 is engaged between the lower end of the easing 18 and the pan,and these parts are pulled together ice and secured by four screws 19 asshown in FIGURES 1 and 3.

The transparent disk 2 which closes the upper end of the register boxhas a circumferential flange 20 and the register box casing 18 has aninwardly protecting complemental casing flange 12. A deformable sealingring, such as the O-ring 22, is interposed between the flanges 12 and2t). When the parts of the register box are assembled, this O-ring isclamped between these flanges and effects a liquid tight closure for theend of the register box opposite the pan 10. The transparent closuredisk 2 can be protected by a metal hinged cover, as shown in FIGURES 1,2 and 3, if desired.

The register mechanism is installed within the register box 1 by theregister mechanism base plate 30 resting upon ledges 13 spacedcircumferentially around the pan 10 so that the adjacent surfaces of thebase plate and the pan will then be spaced apart a predetermineddistance. Ribs or ridges 14 projecting inwardly from the wall of the panabove the ledges 13 locate the base plate 30 spaced inwardly from thepan wall, and preferably disposed concentrically of it. The base plateis pressed down against the ledges 13 by an inner sleeve or collar 4received within the register box and spaced inwardly from its wall. Thiscollar is of a length so that one end will engage the base plate and itsother end will engage the transparent disk 2 so as to press the flangeof such disk against the sealing ring 22 and such sealing ring againstthe casing flange 12, so as to clamp the sealing ring between these twoflanges.

In order to avoid fogging of the inner surface of the transparent disk2, moisture is excluded from the register box by substantially fillingit with oil. To enable oil to be supplied to the interior of theregister box a filler opening is provided in the pan 10 which isnormally closed by the plug screw 15 in order to prevent such oil fromleaking out of the register box. It is necessary for such register boxto be liquid tight.

The space between the pan 10 and the base 13 with which the filleropening communicates, is in communication with the space between thecollar 4 and the side wall of the register box because the ledges 13 areof short circumferential extent, and the ribs 14 space the edge of thebase 13 from the pan Wall. The gasket 11 between the register box andthe pan may extend inwardly to engage the collar and hold it in aposition centered within the casing. Communication between the interiorof the collar 4 and the space between it and the register box isafforded through a slit 40, preferably extending throughout the lengthof the collar. It is also desirable to provide a notch, or aperture 41,in the opposite side of the collar so that air can escape from theinterior of the collar through one of these apertures while oil isflowing into such space through the other aperture.

As shown in FIGURES 4 and 5, the register drive shaft 32 extends fromthe register mechanism through the base plate 13 and the pan 10. Torender the register box liquid tight for preventing the escape of oil,it is necessary to seal the aperture at least in the pan 10 throughwhich this shaft passes. A special sealing element 5 is provided forthis purpose. Preferably it is in the form of a cup of resilientlydeformable material, such as elastomer material, and the cup wall has init a step 56 between its lip and its bottom forming a portion 51 ofsmaller diameter, and a portion 52 of larger diameter, connected by theshoulder 50. Preferably the portion 51 of smaller diameter is connectedto the cup bottom 53 and the edge of the larger portion 52 remote fromthe shoulder 50 forms'the lip of the cup. The bottom 53 of the cup isapertured to pass the shaft 32 and preferably the cup bottom is dishedso that such aperture will be spaced lengthwise of the shaft from thecup bottom. Also, the cup bottom should be formed with a sleeveextending a substantial distance lengthwise of the shaft and should fitsuch shaft snugly.

While the various features of the cup can be of different sizes, it ispreferred that the maximum width of the cup be at least as great as itsmaximum depth. Also, it is preferred that the axial extent of the cupsdished bottom and shaft-engaging sleeve be substantially equal to theheight of the wall portion 51. Further, it is desirable for the heightof the wall portion 52 to be less than that of the wall portion 51, andthat the width of the shoulder 5t and height of the wall portion 52 besufficiently great to enable the cup to seal against surfaces differingin spacing a substantial amount. The ideal situation, however, is forthe surfaces between which the sealing cup is to be located to be spacedapart a distance equal to, or slightly less than, the height of wall 51when the cup is in its relaxed condition.

In assembling a register box on a water meter 9, it is immaterialwhether the meter is in the shop, or is connected by a connection 91(FIG. 1) and an opposite connection, not shown, in a water line. Waterflowing through the meter will drive suitable measuring mechanism whichin turn rotates gear 95 which will mesh with the register drive gear 33shown in FIGURE 5, when the register mechanism is installed in themanner shown in FIGURE 2. The assembled register mechanism will merelybe secured in place on the meter by the screws 19'. It is, however,desirable for the register box to be assembled by securing the pan it)on the lower end of casing 18 and filled with oil in the shop. 7

In assembling the register box, the pan 10 may be set on an annularsurface so that space is provided heneath the hole for passage ofshaft32. The cup 5 may then be placed on such shaft and the registermechanism set on the pan 10 with the shaft 32. extending through itsaperture in the pan. As the base approaches the pan, the sealing cupwill be moved into the position shown in FIGURE 4 in which the registerbase 30 is spaced from the pan a distance equal to the height of thesealing cup. As the register mechanism is lowered farther, the weight ofsuch mechanism will begint'o collapse the wall of the cup by forcing thecup-wall portion 52 to telescope relative to the cup-wall portion 51,thus bending the shoulder portion 50 down over the portion 51 andperhaps spreading outward the lip of the cup formed by the edge of theportion 52. During such movement the bottom 53 may be flattened somewhatfurther but in any event, such bottom will be pressed tightly againstthe pan it) while the lip of the cup is pressed tightly against the base30, thus effectively sealingthe space between these plates from thespace within the sealing cup.

Preferably, the height of the ledges 13 is approximately the same as theheight of the sealing cup wall portion 51 so that when the base plate3-1) engages such ledges, such base plate also will engagethe edge ofthe wall portion 51 joined to the shoulder 50 as shown in FIGURE 5. Thecup will therefore seal against the base plate 3%, not only at its lip,but also at the junction of wall portion 51 and ledge 50, to effect adouble annular seal with such base plate. As also shown in FIGURE 5, itis further desirable as mentioned above, for the re-entrant portion ofthe base and the sleeve formed by it to be of an axial extentapproximately equal to the height of the wall portion 51 so that the endof the shaft-engaging sleeve also will engage the base plate 30 toprovide an additional seal. Pressure of the base plate against the endof this sleeve will distend the sleeve radially to hug the shaft closelyand effect a seal around it as well as forming a seal between the sleeveend and the base plate. Pressure of the base plate, both on the edge ofthe wall portion 51 and on the end of the sleeve, also will increase thepressure between the cup base 53 and the pan 10 so that the cup bottomwill be flattened somewhat more to broaden the seal- 2 will be set onsuch collar,

5. ing Zone of the bottom against the upper surface of the pan 1%. Thecombined effect of the sealing contacts of the two cup wall portions,the cup bottom and the sleeve is to produce an effective fluid tightseal around the shaft 32.

Because the cup 5 is made of quite soft elastomer material and its wallsare not very thick, such sealing action of the cup described above willvirtually be effective simply by setting the base plate 30 with theregister mechanism mounted on it down onto the ledges 13. The collar 4will then be placed around the register mechanism and set on the baseplate and the transparent disk 7 Finally, the register box casing andgasket 11 with the sealing ring 22 installed in the casing will be setover the collar. The casing 18 and pan flanges will then be drawntightly together by tightening the screws 19 connecting them. Suchtightening of the screws not only will clamp the flanges of the casingand pan tightly against the gasket 11, but the base plate 39 and thecollar 4 interposed between the pan 1%) and the transparent disk 2 willbe pressed tightly against the ledges 13 and the disk 2 respectively,and such disk will press the sealing ring 22 so that it will be clampedtightly between the disk flange 2t and the casing flange 12. Such finalpressing of the base plate 36 against the ledges 13 may exert someadditional pressure on the sealing cup 5 to increase its sealingpressure against the base 30, pan 1t), and shaft 32. The pressure of thesleeve against the shaft will not be sufficiently great, however, tocreate 0bjectionable resistance to its rotation.

I claim as my invention:

1. A shaft passage sealing collar comprising a resiliently deformableintegral cup having a stepped wall including a first wall portion, asecond wall portion of smaller diameter and of different extent axiallyof said cup than said first wall portion and disposed concentricallythereof but axially displaced relative thereto and a shoulder joiningthe adjacent edges of said first and second wall portions, the edgeremote from said shoulder of the wall portion of lesser axial extentforming the lip of the cup, and a bottom having its periphery joinedremote from said shoulder to the wall portion of greater axial extentand having a shaft-receiving aperture therein located axially of saidcup between said lip and the bottoms eriphery-, the wall portion oflesser axial extent and said shoulder being yieldable by pressureagainst the lip and the bottoms periphery to telescope said wallportions relatively for reducing the combined axial extent of said Wallportions sufiiciently to locate said lip and a portion of said shoulderin coplanar relationship.

2. The sealing collar defined in claim 1, in which the cup bottom isdished and includes a sleeve forming the shaft-receiving aperture.

3. The sealing collar defined in claim 2, in which one end of the sleeveis substantially in registry with the shoulder radially of the wallportions.

4. A shaft-passage sealing collar comprising a resiliently deformableintegral cup having a stepped wall including a first portion forming thelip of the cup, a second wail portion of smaller diameter and of greaterextent axially of said cup than said first wall portion and disposedconcentrically thereof but axially displaced relative thereto and ashoulder joining the adjacent edges of said first and second wallportions, and a bottom having its periphery joined to said second wallportion remote from said shoulder and having a shaft-receiving aperturetherein located axially of said cup between said lip and the bottomsperiphery, said first wall portion and said shoulder being yieldable bypressure against the lip and the bottoms periphery to telescope saidwall portions relatively for reducing the combined axial extent of saidwall portions sufficiently to locate said lip and a portion of saidshoulder in coplanar relationship.

5. A shaft passage sealing collar comprising a resilienty e o m lintegral cup having a stepped wall including a first wall portionforming the lip of the cup, a second wall portion of smaller diameterand of greater extent axially of said cap than said first wall portionand disposed concentrically thereof but axially displaced relativethereto and a shoulder joining the adjacent edges of said first andsecond Wall portions, and a bottom having its periphery joined to saidsecond wall portion remote from said shoulder and having ashaft-receiving sleeve therein projecting axially toward said lipsufliciently to locate an end thereof substantially coplanar with saidshoulder, and said first wall portion and said shoulder beingsufficiently yieldable by axial pressure on said stepped wall to disposethe lip of said cup coplanar with the junction between said second wallportion and said shoulder.

6. A shaft passage sealing collar comprising a resiliently deformableintegral cup having a stepped wall including a first wall portion, asecond wall portion of smaller diameter and of greater extent axially ofsaid cup than said first wall portion and disposed concentricallythereof but axially displaced relative thereto and a shoulder joiningthe adjacent edges of said first and second wall portions, one end ofsaid stepped wall forming the lip of the cup, and a bottom having itsperiphery joined to said stepped wall adjacent to the end thereof remotefrom said cup lip and having a shaft-receiving sleeve projecting fromsaid bottom in the same axial direction as said stepped wall extendsfrom said bottom toward said lip, said stepped wall being yieldable byaxial pressure thereon to reduce its axial extent.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

1. A SHAFT PASSAGE SEALING COLLAR COMPRISING A RESILIENTLY DEFORMABLEINTERGRAL CUP HAVING A STEPPED WALL INCLUDING A FIRST WALL PORTION, ASECOND WALL PORTION OF SMALLER DIAMETER AND OF DIFFERENT EXTENT AXIALLYOF SAID CUP THAN SAID FIRST WALL PORTION AND DISPOSED CONCENTRICALLYTHEREOF BUT AXIALLY DISPLACED RELATIVE THERETO AND A SHOULDER JOININGTHE ADJACENT EDGES OF SAID FIRST AND SECOND WALL PORTIONS, THE EDGEREMOTE FROM SAID SHOULDER OF THE WALL PORTION OF LESSER AXIAL EXTENTFORMING THE LIP OF THE CUP, AND A BOTTOM HAVING ITS PERIPHERY JOINEDREMOTE FROM SAID SHOULDER TO THE WALL PORTION OF GREATER AXIAL EXTENTAND HAVING A SHAFT-RECEIVING APERTURE THEREIN LOCATED AXIALLY OF SAIDCUP BETWEEN SAID LIP AND THE BOTTOM''S PERIPHERY, THE WALL PORTION OFLESSER AXIAL EXTENT AND SAID SHOULDER BEING YIELDABLE BY PRESSUREAGAINST THE LIP AND THE BOTTOM''S PERIPHERY TO TELESCOPE SAID WALLPORTIONS RELATIVELY FOR REDUCING THE COMBINED AXIAL EXTENT OF SAID WALLPORTIONS SUFFICIENTLY TO LOCATE SAID LIP AND A PORTION OF SAID SHOULDERIN COPLANAR RELATIONSHIP.